Responses to Chinese Rule

In the summer of 2002, both the United States and the United Nations supported China’s claim that an organization known as the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) should be recognized as an international terrorist organization. ¹ It is important to note, however, that China makes little distinction between separatists, terrorists, and civil rights activists—whether they are Uyghurs, Tibetans, Taiwanese, or Falungong Buddhists. One person’s terrorist may be another’s freedom fighter. Are the restive Uyghurs of Xinjiang terrorists, separatists, or freedom fighters? How can the incidents of recent years be seen in terms of patterns of cooperation and opposition to Chinese rule in the region?